Second Lady Champions First-Rate Plan For Students

Second Lady Champions First-Rate Plan For Students

By Jeffery Green

QUEENS - LaGuardia Community College was left positively buzzing Wednesday afternoon after a special on-campus announcement by Dr. Jill Biden.  The Second Lady was in New York promoting the ‘Heads Up America’ initiative, a program aimed at eliminating the tuition costs for community college students throughout the country; provided that they are hard-working, and take their educations seriously.

Throughout her husband’s run as Vice-President of the United States, Dr. Biden has remained a very effective public advocate for the importance of community colleges, and has regularly advised the Obama Administration on issues related to them.  She has witnessed soaring tuition prices, at a time in this nation’s history, unfortunately, in which it is most imperative that a person possess a college degree.  If successful, ‘Heads Up America’ will make two years of community college education free for responsible students, and help ease the tremendous financial burdens associated with higher learning.  “Burdens”, that according to American financial journalist, and ‘Heads Up’ guest speaker, Jean Chatzky, “leave adults with tens of thousands in student loan debt”, and contribute to a wide array of stress and problems in their lives.  

Sharing the auditorium stage with Ms. Chatzky and Dr. Biden were two of our very own; student, Rachel Chambers, and the President of LaGuardia Community College, Dr. Gail Mellow.  They represented the school exceptionally well, and didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by their famous cohorts, nor the Secret Service agents standing guard around them.  Ms. Chambers, in particular, was featured very prominently Wednesday afternoon, as she dazzled alongside superstar comedian Louis CK in a prerecorded PSA explaining the ‘Heads Up America’ movement.  She was a fabulous choice for the promotional video, and did a fantastic job; however, it was the telling of Chambers’ backstory that garnered, perhaps, the day’s most rambunctious round of applause.  While at the podium, the beaming undergrad waved hello to a very proud Momma Chambers; who this past June graduated from the very same school her daughter is attending.  It was a touching moment indeed, and a wonderful example of the family-like atmosphere that LaGuardia Community College offers its students.  

There is still much work left to be done by the ‘Heads Up America’ committee, and the financial obstacles will most certainly remain the movement’s most challenging hurdle.  It’s a rather tall task to find funding for 9 million undergraduates, but it’s also important to remember that investing in education is rarely ever a bad idea.  Dr. Biden has often been quoted as saying, that “our country’s community colleges are one of America’s best-kept secrets.”  She believes it so passionately, that despite the countless demands of her husband’s political career, Dr. Biden has been unwilling to relinquish her position as an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College.  And while you may be downplaying the significance of that decision in your head right now, consider this:  It’s believed that Biden is the only Second Lady in history to have a paid job.      

With dedicated individuals such as Dr. Biden, and a White House that is sympathetic to the cause, real, tangible change may soon be on the horizon.  It’s an exciting time to be a college student, just remember to keep your ‘Heads Up America.’

Sam Adams and The Journal of Occurrences

The journal of occurrences was a necessary evil.  It may of broken every single ethics code that we enjoy today, but it was incredibly successful at achieving its primary goal, which was to cultivate public hatred for the British troops stationed in Boston.  For each issue, there would be dozens of reports illustrating the many different ways in which the soldiers were abusing their power, always at the expense of innocent colonists.

Let's not be naive here; the Journal was a complete farce.  Its pages contained enough tall tales to topple Pinocchio, but had to settle for a monarchy.  But it's because of publications such as the Journal and Common Sense that a small group of rebels were able to spark a revolution.  It just goes to show you how powerful a journalist can be when they effectively capture the public's attention.

My feelings regarding Mr. Adams are hopelessly mixed, and I feel a similar way about the other early patriots.  In my opinion, two wrongs do not make a right.  And though I can understand the American colonists' struggle, I often wonder how different our nation's history would be had the British withdrawn their troops before the Boston Massacre.  Many people argue that the revolutionary war was absolutely inevitable - and they're probably right, but there will always be a part of me that has an issue with the lies that this great nation was built on.  When the building blocks being used are lies and deceit, it makes for a shaky and unstable foundation.  And of course, if enough mistrust exists, everything that we've created through the years can come crashing down around us.  That's not a future that any of us want.